Potty training marks an important developmental stage in young children. Although different experts espouse different methods for potty training, not all methods work for all children. Regardless of the method employed in potty training a young child, potty training requires patience, understanding, and the willingness to accept setbacks.
Most children show signs of readiness to begin using the toilet as toddlers, usually between eighteen (18) months and three (3) years of age. These signs include staying dry for at least two (2) hours at a time, having regular bowel movements, being able to follow simple instructions, being uncomfortable with dirty diapers and wanting them to be changed, asking to use the potty, or asking to wear regular underwear. Moreover, a suitable training potty should be put to use once a child exhibits a willingness to begin toilet training.
The training potty is one of the most important aspects of potty training because it constitutes the child's first exposure to a form of toilet. A suitable training potty must be easy to use, pleasing to the eye, easy to clean, and comfortable for the child. Although skilled artisans have devoted considerable effort toward the development of better and more efficient training potties, the state of the art of training potties suffers in the current efforts have yielded training potties that are difficult to clean, difficult to manufacture, and that have limited if any use apart from their primary utility as a waste collection device. Given these and other deficiencies in the art of potty benches, the need for continued improvement in the art is evident.